difficulty feeding bottom feeders

[Yoemen]

I have a JD who now eats pellets like a garbage disposal. The problem is I have to feed an enormously large amount of pellets to him to sneak wafers down to the cats without him eating them. Anyone have any tips so that I can cut down on the pellet bribery?

[fishcatch22]

how about hiding the wafers where the cats can find them and he can't?

[webcricket]

Wait to feed until after you turn the lights out and they have been out for a while. Or feed in the morning before you turn them on.

[bettagurl]

I have to put my piggy fish in a net while I feed everybody else,but hiding the wafers arounddecor/rocks whatever you have would be good.

[Yoemen]

if they reach the bottom they are fine, its while they are floaing down that i have issues.

[fishcatch22]

holding him in a net in the water should do the trick, as long as the net is big enough, or you could place the wafers directly on the tank floor.

[reptileguy2727]

no need to stress the fish by netting him. just buy a riser tube for an undergravel filter and sink the bottom feeders' food down in that straight to the bottom and feed him at the other end of the tank.

[fishcatch22]

I don't mean net him in the normal way, i simply mean hold the net around him whilst pressing it against the side of the tank. i do it all the time with my betta and he doesn't get too stressed.

[reptileguy2727]

it still isnt good. maybe yours is used to it, but in general it isnt good practice to employ netting as a frequent tool when there are less stressing methods out there to achieve the same goal.

[fishcatch22]

well, I don't think it frightens them, because they can still swim around inside the net. this practice is one I learned from my mother, and the only way i can sneak flakes down to my pleco. I also think diverting with your hand would work , too, and would probably be the best way, or putting the wafers directly on the bottom.

[reptileguy2727]

plecos shouldnt be getting flakes, they need wood in the tank and algae wafers if not also dark lettuce and zucchini. and most fish arent exactly happy about being netted, how many swim into it? use a piece of hard tubing to allow the foods to sink to the bottom without others being able to get to them. it definitely wont harm anyone and will get the job done.

[fishcatch22]

they are veggie flakes, and my pleco gets plenty of algae discs, and munches java moss and algae for her veggies. notice i said that I think putting the wafer directly on the floor would be the best method in his case.

[reptileguy2727]

i know, and im saying that i have found that the tube thing works great for that. thats how i feed my discus as well as stingrays.